The living room is the heart of any home: a place to entertain and welcome guests; a space where families can congregate; an area to relax or read a good book. As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, we tend to start looking for ways to recreate Scandinavia’s concept of hygge, decorating our homes with blankets, rugs and cushions.
While it’s important to have plenty of soft furnishings to sink into, ambient lighting is the secret to a cosy interior. From intimate to sociable, relaxing to energising, good lighting is essential to generating a sense of warmth and wellbeing.
An elegant choice for a quiet coffee meeting, the North Floor Pendant by Arik Levy is defined by a dynamic, deconstructed silhouette. Captured here in a subtle graphite finish, it synthesises the typical floor and pendant lamp by connecting floor and ceiling, its sleek conical shade hanging from a slender carbon fibre rod and secured by a counterweight at floor level. The angle of the rod is adjustable, allowing light to be directed precisely over a coffee table or comfortable sofa.
Designed by Lievore Altherr, Tempo is characterised by lean lines and a long adjustable arm that extends out from its vertical base. The perfect companion for a relaxed aperitif, a translucent blown glass diffuser provides volume to an otherwise linear design. The delicate milk-glass oval hangs gracefully in the air, filling the room with a diffuse glow and bringing with it a sense of tranquillity.
Soft lighting is the key to a cosy evening at home. For an intimate atmosphere with an elevated aesthetic, Dama connects the charm of the traditional floor or table lamp with the finesse of contemporary lighting design. The work of Roberto Palomba and Ludovica Serafini, the delicacy of the base and frame allows the paper diffuser to seemingly float in empty space, its circular LED radiating with a gentle, uniform glow from within.
For the ultimate winter oasis, Knit, by German designer Meike Harde, creates a snug, familiar ambience. Oversized floor lamps burst with warmth, comfort and charisma – the perfect complement to a family gathering. The bulk of each volume is covered in stretchy lycra knitted into ribs. Light seeps outwards and downwards through a translucent screen and two-tonal stitching with different levels of density provides subtle, textured illumination.
A chat over a cup of tea is infinitely more appealing with an ambient floor or table lamp at your side. Created by Japanese designer Ichiro Iwasaki, the Flat collection features distinctive, disc-shaped diffusers that form horizontal planes of light.
A simple, diminutive compact disc sits atop a slender stem, creating a pool of soft light that illuminates the surrounding space. For the larger models, an additional single or double disc offers an auxiliary table for books and magazines, light bouncing playfully off their reflective surfaces.
Ambient lighting comes in many different styles and is by no means limited to floor and table lamps. The Duo ceiling lamp by Ramos & Bassols brings natural warmth, integrating effortlessly into a comfortable interior environment. Articulated through simple volumes in a striking combination of oak veneer and mate-lacquered aluminium, the gently curved exterior soothes by reflecting light evenly off its surface, while the diffuser enhances the warm tone and texture of wood from within.
An oversized pendant is a great addition to an evening event or cocktail party. Dramatic yet delicate, spectacular yet unpretentious, the Wireflow makes a striking statement in spaces designed for entertaining. The work of Arik Levy, it traces three-dimensional geometries of steel and aluminium, which, despite their large scale, maintain an air of weightlessness and transparency. With dimming control for more gentle illumination, Wireflow is as inviting as it is impressive.
